The Curious Incident Analysis

In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, readers observe the world through the eyes of an autistic fifteen-year-old boy named Christopher Boone. Christopher discovers his neighbor’s poodle, Wellington, was mysteriously murdered so he becomes committed to solving the murder. After discovering his father killed the dog, the story’s external conflict evolves from solving Wellington’s murder to Christopher’s perilous journey to find the mother who he recently found out was still alive. Christopher’s internal conflict becomes more prominent as the turn in events force him to struggle against his autism’s limitations. Throughout this escapade, Christopher’s character continues to develop. Haddon depicts how Christopher’s
He finds great comfort in order, organization, and situations that he can easily make sense of. For example, if someone merely moves the furniture in his house to vacuum, he must return it to the precise position it was previously in. An unfamiliar environment or the slightest sense of chaos frightens him, making him feel out of control. Many people can tune out a situation that frightens them or overlook changing from one environment to the next, but Christopher later explains that when he enters a new place, he will immediately “see everything” (140). It becomes difficult for him to function when bombarded by scores of new information like a computer crashing. He has “to close [his] eyes and put [his] hands over [his] ears and groan, which is like pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and shutting down programs and turning the computer off and rebooting,” (143). This seems like a regular obstacle in Christopher’s life, but when he faces the challenge of finding his mother by himself, he doesn’t allow this impediment to prevent him from achieving his goal. He finds new ways to deal with the frightening sounds and crowds of the London Underground such as closing his eyes and focusing on the rhythm of the sounds around him like the trains coming in and out of the station. His admirable determination gradually triumphs over the challenge that had shaped the majority of his
When the police assume he killed Wellington and arrest him, Christopher relies on his father to help him out of the situation. Later, however, he begins to find ways of relying on his own skills. For example, despite his father’s fervent requests to “stay out of other people’s business,” Christopher approaches Mrs. Alexander and uncovers his mother’s affair with Mr. Shears He also repeatedly fantasizes about living alone in space or being the last person on earth, emphasizing his desire for independence. After no longer feeling safe in his own home, Christopher builds the confidence to set out on his own to find his mother. In the final chapter he states: “I am going to go to university in another town...And I can live in a flat with a garden and a proper toilet.... And then I will get a First Class Honors degree and I will become a scientist. And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.” (221)
With this statement, Haddon implies that Christopher’s independence will continue to grow along with his confidence in